Thursday, December 13, 2018

Reminiscing

Famous R&B and soul singer Frank Ocean is known to tell stories through his songs, which is exactly what he does in one of most popular songs, Think Bout You. In this song, Ocean reminisces about his ex-lover, while trying to remain strong. Ocean displays this poetry through song, as he believes that a music is the best way to deliver an effective story while keeping the attention of the audience.

Ocean's calm song begins with him describing his attitude before and after his love, stating

A tornado flew around my room before I came
Excuse the mess it made is usually doesn't rain in
Southern California, much like Arizona
My eyes don't shed tears, but boy, they pour when

He begins comparing the state of his room to his life. Before he met his lover, his life was a mess and out of order, but his significant other fixed that. When his lover left, it brought him to tears, which he uses the dry weather of California and Arizona to express that these tears are rare for him, but in this case, it's a hard downpour.

Or do you not think so far ahead?
Cause I've been thinkin' 'bout forever, ooh
Or do you not think so far ahead?
Cause I've been thinkin' 'bout forever, ooh

In these two stanza's, Ocean conveys irony by using simple language to describe a pretty complex situation between him and his significant other. The repetition of certain words and lines emphasizes that he's constantly thinking about this person and the state of their relationship, wondering if they're doing the same.

It's possible that Ocean is stating lies to suppress his sorrows, when he mentions in his second verse

No, I don't like you, I just thought you were cool enough to kick it
Got a beach house I could sell you in Idaho
Since you think I don't love you, I just thought you were cute
That's why I kissed you
Got a fighter jet, I don't get to fly it though, I'm lying down

There could be multiple lies in the verse, such as him saying that he really didn't like this person, his mentioning of owning a beach house, kissing them just because he thought they were cute, and owning a fighter jet. All of these could potentially just be him masking his feelings. The verse quickly transitions from fibs to "I'm lying down" and then into the chorus, highlighting that he can't kid himself with these lies, and that he's really reminiscing about this person.

Overall, Franks comparisons, simply irony, and statements through false claims reflect his complicated and lingering feelings for this mysterious lover.

On a side note, I'd like to say that I never mentioned the word "she" or "her" in describing Ocean's lover, because there were speculations that this song might've been about another guy, but I'm not sure.